A community of support for healthy eating

I'm pretty sure that I'm not up to the task for all of this cloak-and-dagger stuff in my life at the moment. I mean, I understand that I'm being increasingly dramatic, but... I'm short on sleep, and, seriously, this is what's happening in my actual city and my actual life right now.

I'm in the middle of taking virtual training courses, and I'm already having to rethink how I want to participate. So, I think that means the first session was excellent. I now understand much more about legal observer tactics. And apparently the neighbor-to-neighbor community networking method that is being used here in Minneapolis is modeled after one developed a decade ago for Rogers Park in Chicago.

A few hours before that training session, the neighborhood security response chat (loosely described in this video) was compromised shortly after I joined it. It made me wonder, "Hmmm. I certainly didn't share details, but the timing is strange. I wonder if my Yahoo email account is monitored, since the needed details were there with my invitation?" Which then led me to wonder about the appointment I have tomorrow after work to meet a total stranger at the nearby Cub grocery (aka "public space" which is open to ICE intrusion). I never really understood why meeting a unionist in Minneapolis would be necessary before I could talk to the IBT Local 8 (in Pennsylvania) about what it would mean for me to join from another state. I did ask IBT Local 8 about it, using my Yahoo email address. Later, a random person contacts me to meet in person about unions and cross-state involvement. "Sure, " I say, simplemindedly. Now, though, I wonder. Should I ask the local network to have someone there at that time, to record the interaction, just in case? Or is this just part of the Teamsters' own cloak-and-dagger protocol? They certainly have their own history of corruption and violence. *sigh*

Fascism sucks. It ruins everyone, I think. Trust is hope is antidote... maybe? We have to choose which life, which world, we want to inhabit. I'm certain of that much, at least. The rest of this Andor political intrigue is just not my specialty. I prefer everything out and visible on the proverbial table.

I've seen lots of good and interesting videos recently. I'll leave you with this one primary recommendation, though. I mentioned the high-quality Legal Eagle channel back in 2024, and here is their main lawyer in a very uncharacteristically emotional video with good review of what's happening. He gets bonus points for mentioning stochastic terrorism, which I've also called out a few times over the years.

We live in historic times.

I'm back home. I skipped the indoor part of the event that was scheduled. I got home in time to watch the 5pm local news (KSTP 5), 5:30pm national news (ABC World News Tonight), and 6pm PBS. None of them impress upon their viewers the actual scale of what just happened.

Minneapolis is geographically small. When it expanded and encountered other cities, it didn't annex them but just stopped expanding. This page explains some of that history. We have not quite 500,000 residents in an area of only 153 square kilometers (59 square miles) in total area, with 6% of that area being water. That's significantly smaller than someplace like Austin TX, where I lived before moving to the Twin Cities about 30 years ago. The size of home lots is smaller than most places in the suburbs, so we have a lot of people in less space.

I showed up at 2pm in the face-freezing cold weather. I was mostly prepared for it after decades of accumulating appropriate layers of gear, but I still needed chemical handwarmers, which kind people were handing out freely. I hung around for a full hour before asking someone near me about 3:05pm, "Do you know when the march is supposed to be?" They said, "Oh, it started at 2pm. There's just that many people here." What a wonderful reason to be feel frustrated. I waited a while longer before realizing that the arthritis in my back wouldn't allow much more of this inactivity. For inexplicable reasons, standing still is worse on my back than moving. I finally moved to join what appeared, maybe, to be an end of the line, and I started walking. And kept walking, slowly, for more than an hour across not-so-many blocks of downtown to the destination on the west side. Other arthritic parts were complaining by then, and my surgical mask had long since given up any semblance of function in the bitter cold (I pushed it aside because it kept freezing, leading to fogged-up eye glasses), so I headed back to the bus for the ride back home. Even at my home neighborhood, people would see me carrying an "ICE OUT" poster and honked their support at me as I walked home.

The general strike was approved even at the state-level AFL-CIO. I made sure to thank my bus drivers both going downtown and coming back home, so they knew I appreciated their enabling me to protest, which is a great form of solidarity. They're absolutely not scabs for working during an approved general strike.

CNN published the headline "Hundreds brave freezing temperatures at downtown Minneapolis rally and march". So now we know that CNN airs propaganda for the administration. The organizers claim 50,000 people attended. I don't know for sure. It easily could have been that many. Some news outlets are saying "tens of thousands" of people protested. Nobody could capture a single image, because our path on the march wound between different skyscrapers. You can get a sense of the scale in these photos, these photos, this video, and this video. I was there for over 2 hours and never saw the whole of it.

My own recording in video and photograph is lame in comparison to those links. Even early at the event, my fingers stopped working well whenever I took them out of the gloves, so I just couldn't fumble with my phone easily to record the many wonderful things I saw. I really like the loon Star Wars poster and the magnificent loon flag. The various Liam (the bunny child) posters were heartbreaking, of course. I'll leave this link to a folder with what small things I did manage to capture. I'm sorry, but it was just too cold for me to operate my smartphone skillfully.

My faith in humanity is restored for at least the next 24 hours. Until the next inhumane Republican thing happens, whatever it is.

We live in historic times.

I assumed the protest was happening at the People's Plaza, but it's actually happening at Commons Park, across from the football stadium. This page has details:
https://www.facebook.com/events/s/ice-out-of-minnesota-day-of-tr/1772691910085908/

It will be bitterly cold, but Minnesotan's know how to dress for it. I plan to be there. If you're local, then I hope you can join too. It's important to note that the state AFL-CIO has now endorsed this day of action. I updated yesterday's post to mention it, plus a few more links.

We live in historic times. This Republican administration is trying to set a terrible precedent, starting here in Minneapolis.

Reminder for locals in Minneapolis: The general strike is scheduled for 2026 January 23 Friday.

People are posting photos and stories of cars left abandoned in the middle of neighborhood streets or on the side of highways after ICE took away their occupants. I can't remember if I've mentioned it already, but since ICE is taking unfair advantage of "public space" to enter businesses and arrest shoppers or employees (even after benefiting from the staff's labor first), some businesses are closing the public space. One grocery store I visit locks the doors now, so patrons have to wait for staff to unlock the door to let them enter or exit. A local business magazine tells this story about statewide business changes, including this new practice of locking the doors. Local KSTP News aired this piece about business closures in downtown Minneapolis. When our plutocrats notice, then something might finally change.

You know it's bad when local police from various cities have to hold a press conference to tell the public (paraphrased), "Please, stop hating on us because we're not the ones committing these obviously unconstitutional crimes. Our own off-duty officers are being racially targeted for illegal harassment by ICE."

But, at least it's all done now. Within a 1-block radius of my house, I know homes that include each of the currently-targeted ethnic identities: hispanic, asian, native american, and somali. I hope these notices (redacted here for sharing publicly) that I delivered can help in at least some small way, and it isn't just me spinning in circles wondering what to do.

In warmer climates, people may know the phrase "ice out" as an idiom meaning to treat someone coldly. In cold climates like Minnesota's, it also has a specific meaning that refers to the calendar date each spring season when the ice covering a lake finally melts away and disappears. You can see the current dates (from 2025, until thaws begin this year) at this Minnesota DNR page.

It has taken on a new meaning of political resistance now that ICE agents have invaded Minnesota and are terrorizing its citizens. I will go out on a limb and vouch for the following website, where people can submit and view an entire USA map of locations where ICE is recorded each day. To visit the site, you have to agree to a long list of user agreements. It's intimidating, and I refused to accept them until I had time to read it properly this afternoon. They are trying to prohibit false entries and also prohibit scraping of data by other people/agencies. I saw nothing unreasonable when I looked over the full text. I accepted their terms.

https://iceout.org/en/

Because of this armed invasion by our federal government, there is a general strike planned in Minneapolis for 2026 January 23 Friday. I can't remember ever living during a place and time of a general strike. These are historic times.

Faith leaders are calling this assault "spiritual warfare" (CBS News story), with some announcing their plans for fasting and prayer that day (KARE 11 news story). Some local unions are joining the effort too. The socialists noted that the AFL-CIO (representing 300,000 workers in Minnesota) has not made a statement yet... so I asked them to. A special shout-out to local business George & The Dragon pub for closing to join the general strike.

I haven't seen necessary details at a webpage yet, but I assume the main protest will be in downtown Minneapolis at the People's Plaza (the Hennepin County Government building, across from Minneapolis city hall). This Reddit post says the march begins at 2pm. I plan to be there.

I'm not particularly concerned for myself. I am worried, however, about the care and feeding of my cat, should anything ever happen to me. As I've mentioned before, I'm not on the first list that my federal government is pursuing now, but I will be on their second and third lists.

• I saw the news stories like this one about the "Are You Dead?" app. I thought, "That's perfect!" I tried to download it, but apparently it's only on iPhones but not Android.
• I discovered that all Android phones have Google's own Personal Safety app. Maybe it's because of all the trying-to-be-helpful training options showing up everywhere, but the user interface is really awful. Even this explanatory article seems really long. I'm not sure I'd be able to use it in a hurry. I promise to make an attempt today to set it up, though.
• I just downloaded the ReadyNow app from Human Rights First. It's straightforward, and I plan to configure it completely for my own needs today. It is, however, another "active" tool instead of a "passive" tool that I also need to arrange.

Question: What is a good "dead man's switch" that will send an email if I fail to respond within 48 hours? I figure that's long enough that my cat won't suffer ill health without her usual daily feeding of special food.

I finally retrieved access to my very old Proton mailbox. It was unused for so long that they deleted all prior content. I am, however, still grandfathered for a "@protonmail.ch" email domain. Here in the USA, however, it's easier to tell someone "@protonmail.com".

Anyway, I generally approve of this review of their security features. While subject lines could still be uncovered by a government, the text body of an email sent from a Proton account to another Proton account should not be available to anyone but the Swiss government, and even then only if you have broken Swiss law. At least, according to Proton's own privacy report on this topic. Other email providers are listed here as additional options.

Anyway, if you ever need to send me a fully-private message, then you're welcome to message me at:

mellowtigger@protonmail.com

Additionally, someone sent me information about a new tech called Reticulum MeshChat. (Sorry, Dreamwidth tells me that I'm unable to message you back directly.) I'm still looking into it for messaging even when mainstream internet is down, using other local people to create a mini-net. I've seen articles and pages (like this recommendation) about various kinds of this stuff, which I think crossed everyone's mind back during Occupy. I'll look deeper into this solution when I have more mental bandwidth. It looks potentially useful at first glance.